BAXTER SPRINGS — The Iola Mustangs ended their season with a 41-35 loss to the Baxter Springs Lions during Thursday’s non-bracket game.
The Mustangs rallied to tie the score 21-21 late in the third quarter but that was as close as they would get as the Lions seemed to find a way to stay ahead until securing the victory with an onside kick late in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a tough way to end and I feel bad for the seniors and those who put in a lot of work moving forward and geting us ready for next season. We have a lot of kids coming back.”
With multiple Iola receivers catching multiple touchdowns while racking up more than 200 yards, the Mustangs held their own throughout the contest.
After entering halftime down 21-14, sophomore quarterback Reed Clift found junior receiver Jase Herrmann from 6 yards out for a TD. After Baxter Springs retook the lead on a pair of lengthy rushes, Reed returned the favor on Iola’s next drive for a 9-yard TD scamper.
“We saw some things that were opening up from the plays we were running and the formations we had,” Daugharthy said. “We just need to get the ball to our kids in space. We had a rejuvenated run game tonight. That definitely helped.”
And so it went, through the second half as the Lions took the lead, then Iola pulled within a score with a TD briefly transitioned to the run game on a 10-yard scamper to tie the game 21-21, but Baxter took only a pair of plays to retake the lead 28-21.
Clift found Herrmann for Iola’s final touchdown of the evening late in the fourth quarter, which would turn out to be Iola’s final TD of the year.
“We should be a completely experienced team next year where, this year, we did not have a lot of experience,” Daugharthy said. “The expectation is to hit the ground running next year. Games like this will hopefully motivate us. We did a lot of things well, but a lot of things poorly and if we clean things up a little bit that bodes well for us in the future.”
With the loss, the Mustangs end the season with a 2-7 record. As a program, Iola High School has not finished a season with a winning record in 12 years, when the 2013 Mustangs went 5-4.
Iola will graduate only five seniors next spring from their current roster. With 11 juniors lined up for leadership roles, Iola could experience a rebound in 2026.
“If we check all of the boxes, I feel good about us next season,” Daugharthy said. “Just the talent we have, we’re good. We need to become a more physical football team. We have to make some stops on defense and have some guys willing to come off the ball and make a tackle and be physically dominant. They just have to buy into it.”
